Crafts, gifts and a whole lot of love
Welcome back fellow travelers! I’m going to share two new someday destinations with you today. Both of them are on my list because they offer stunning views, out-of-of-the-way appeal and charm to spare. First on the list is… Lugano, Switzerland Just look at that view. […]
I am rounding out August with several additions to my store. I’ve got a trio of small zippered pouches and some cute wristlet key fobs that are just the perfect amount of pretty. There’s also a free perpetual calendar for tracking special dates like birthdays and anniversaries if you like to keep track of that sort of thing the old fashioned way.
Have you ever had one of those weeks where the thought of cooking after a long day at work just felt like well… work? I’m having one of those weeks, so when I was doing a mad dash through Target the other day I stumbled on a new pasta variety that I thought looked good. Really, anything that will hold onto the sauce and whatever else I toss into my pasta dishes, is appealing to me. I’d never seen Fussilloni before (or heard of it for that matter) so I tossed it in my cart along with a jar of basil and garlic pasta sauce and went on my way. It looks a lot like rotini but it’s quite a bit larger and I figured it would work for dinner one day this week .
Skip ahead a day or two to Thursday night when I drummed up some cooking mojo and started pulling stuff together for this Sweet Italian Fussilloni Recipe. My subscription to Imperfect Foods pretty much guarantees that I always have bell peppers on hand and I also had a package of sweet Italian sausage and some mushrooms in my last box. All that paired with half an onion and I was well on my way to a quick dinner. Putting it together took less than 30 minutes including the time it took to toss a loaf of sourdough in the oven to warm. As an added bonus, we have leftovers for a day or two! It pairs nicely with a fresh, tossed salad.
Have a great weekend everyone and let me know what you think of this recipe in the comments.
Also, if you’re liking the recipes or any of my posts really, sign up for my newsletter and get posts, recipes, info on new stuff I add to the store and freebies dropped right into your inbox!
Welcome back to part two of my bucket list of places to go in the world. My list is long and I can only hope to live long enough to visit them all but it’s good to dream, right?
am thrilled to announce that I’ve just added four yummy new scents to the selection in my candle shop that are guaranteed to fit in with your Autumn plans. There’s a little bit here for everyone: cinnamon, pumpkin, caramel, mint, pine and juniper… whatever your favorite Autumn scents are, these four new blends are sure to please. Get ’em while you can though, because they’ll only be in the shop for a limited time!
A few years ago, we took a trip to Ireland and spent eight days exploring the Southern and Western edges of the green isle. I wrote about this earlier this year in this post. What I didn’t say at the time is that I was bitten by the European travel bug and am salivating at the idea of going back. But, I don’t really want to dive into all the touristy spots that visitors flock to every year. Our trip to Ireland involved a lot of exploration of smaller towns and places that weren’t overrun with people. I wanted an authentic Ireland experience and I got it so, that’s what I want for future travel as well.
This is the first of a five-part series of posts where I will share some of my dream destinations. The countries will no doubt be on a lot of bucket lists, but the destinations within those countries may not. Ready to get off the beaten path with me? Well then, let’s go!
Who doesn’t dream of beautiful Tuscany? From the rugged Apennine Mountains to the beaches of Elba you’ll find a gorgeous landscape made complete by the addition of lush olive groves and vineyards. Now add in a villa rental at the Castello di Montalto in the Chianti area of Tuscany between Siena and Arezzo and you have the making of a vacation straight out of your dreams. Just an hour and a half from Florence, this area is rich in history and, of course, famous for its wine. Give me a room in a villa here and a good pair of walking shoes and I’ll be happy. The castle even offers bicycle rentals, hiking, and the occasional cooking, painting or drawing lesson if you get tired of the views. Learn how to make authentic Italian food? Yes please!
This was the vacation that didn’t happen thanks to the Coronavirus shutdown in early 2020. Literally days away from departure we were forced to cancel our 10-day trip to lovely St. Martin. I could have cried. Well, actually I did because we were SOOOOO ready for a vacation and then, nope. You’re not going anywhere. Only recently have things really opened up again here to American travelers. We are hopeful that one day, we’ll be able to visit and I’ll finally be able to use the French I’ve been struggling to re-learn for the last 2 years!
For our 2020 trip, we chose the French side of this small island in the Caribbean that is part of the Leeward Islands. Grand Case is snuggled into the northern curve of the island and is famous for its French cuisine. As is true of any tropical destination, Grand Case offers beaches, gorgeous sunsets and lovely weather. All of which our “sick and tired of MN winter bodies” were crying out for. On the Dutch side (Sint Maarten) shopping opportunities abound and offers the chance to see the massive cruise ships come in several times a week. If you want to avoid the crowd of cruisers in the markets, ask your travel agent to fill you in on the days where there are no ships docking and enjoy a leisurely stroll through the shops. We also chose the French side of the island simply because, while still popular with tourists, it’s not as busy as the Dutch side where all flights and cruise ships come into.
If you are looking for your own inspiration for where to go on your next vacation, I stumbled on a really cool website called Big 7 Travel that has a ton of information about hundreds of destinations all over the world. The articles are all written by travelers who have actually been there and the photography is gorgeous. I’ve added the website to my Favorite Links and Resources page if you are looking for it later.
With that, I’ll wrap this up for today and tease you to come back again for further installments! My bucket list of travel destinations is pretty long so I’m breaking things up a bit for you. Also, I realize that travel is still in a state of flux for many countries, but one day (very soon I hope) the world will open up again and all this dreaming will become reality.
Happy Friday!
Is anyone else carrying around more than their fair share of COVID weight? To be fair, I’ve not exactly been all that diligent about taking care of myself, (exercise? what is that?!?) and while I love working from home, having unlimited access to the fridge […]
Summertime for me means lots of fresh salads, fruit and light, zesty balsamic dressings. In the winter I reach for good old Ranch, but when we’re grilling or just eating out on the deck, I want my citrus, balsamic and olive oil. As you might […]
August seems to be the month of the kitten because five different family members have adopted kittens in the last couple of weeks. Three of them were from the same litter I think, but no matter. The kitties rule this month!
Our son Josh is among the new pet owners and when asked what he was going to name his new furry friend, he didn’t have an answer. His friends have all sorts of suggestions as you might expect, but as of our last conversation he still had not decided. Being the helpful mother that I am (wink) I thought I would dig up a little intel on what the most popular pet names are this year. So, here goes!
For this list, I found this article and list on KittyCatter.com which actually lists the top 100 most popular cat names. I’m only including the top 10 here, but be sure to hop on over to their site and read the whole article. You’ll discover a lot of the same names from the puppy list below in the full list, which I thought was interesting. I’ve also bolded the ones that are popular in both categories.
1. Oliver
2. Bella
3. Simba
4. Chloe
5. Luna
6. Max
7. Lucy
8. Lily
9. Nala
10. Sophie
Not to leave any dog lovers out there (myself included) out of the fun, I also found a list of top 10 puppy names. This list is according to Parade magazine and this post. Looking through the names, I can see how they come to be ranked so high – I’ve got friends or family who have used five out of the ten names listed.
1. Luna
2. Charlie
3. Cooper
4. Bella
5. Milo
6. Lucy
7. Bailey
8. Daisy
9. Coco
10. Max
Also – side note – Did you notice how they all have two syllables except for #10? That’s so when you call them at 10:00 at night because they are wandering around the yard while you wait in your PJs, you can put a little extra emphasis on the first syllable… I know this because having been a dog owner, sometimes you need to get their attention before they will come. Anyone remember Buster? Oh, that dog…
In case you ‘re wondering, my husband and I are cat parents. Lois and Lana (pictured above) are sisters that we adopted in 2008 . Rich and I brought the kittens home and our boys took over naming them. Can you guess what they were binge watching at the time? Their names are based off of two characters from the then-popular CW Series Smallville. Oddly enough their personalities actually match the characters on the show!
So, what ever happened to Fluffy and Spot? It used to be that pets were named more for their color (Ginger or Snowball ) or some other attribute (Rover or Spot). Growing up I can’t think of a single pet that was given a name more commonly used for a person. One of the funniest dog names I ever heard was DOG only they pronounced it Dee-Oh-Gee. Clever, right? I guess our family tends to choose more unusual names for our furry family members; at least for our cats. Though now that I think about it, I’ve never had a cat named Fluffy or a dog named Spot either! How about you? Are you more traditional with your pet names or do you go for a clever twist? Let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear what you have to say!
With that, I’ll wish you all a happy Friday! I hope you have a fun weekend planned and be sure to give the animals in your life an extra snuggle. 😀
I’ve always been curious about those quizzes you find on social media that assign a personality type to whomever partakes in them. I realize many of them are pure bunk, (that’s my logical, pragmatic personality speaking) but from an entertainment standpoint, I have to admit […]